Ecclesiastes 1:10
Is there anything about which someone can say,“Look at this! It is new!”? It was already done long ago, before our time.
Is there anything about which someone can say,“Look at this! It is new!”? It was already done long ago, before our time.
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8All this monotony is tiresome; no one can bear to describe it: The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content with hearing.
9What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.
11No one remembers the former events, nor will anyone remember the events that are yet to happen; they will not be remembered by the future generations.
12Futility of Secular Accomplishment I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied.
14I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile– like chasing the wind!
15What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be supplied.
14God’s Sovereignty I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it. God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.
15Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been; for God will seek to do again what has occurred in the past.
16The Problem of Injustice and Oppression I saw something else on earth: In the place of justice, there was wickedness, and in the place of fairness, there was wickedness.
10The Futile Way Life Works Whatever has happened was foreordained, and what happens to a person was also foreknown. It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate because God is more powerful than he is.
11The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?
12For no one knows what is best for a person during his life– during the few days of his fleeting life– for they pass away like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.
11Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded:“All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless– like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”
12Wisdom is Better than Folly Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king has already done?
15I considered all the living who walk on earth, as well as the successor who would arise in his place.
16There is no end to all the people nor to the past generations, yet future generations will not rejoice in him. This also is profitless and like chasing the wind.
1¶ Title The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2Introduction: Utter Futility“Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher,“Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”
3Futility Illustrated from Nature What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?
4A generation comes and a generation goes, but the earth remains the same through the ages.
5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries away to a place from which it rises again.
10Do not say,“Why were the old days better than these days?” for it is not wise to ask that.
2So I considered those who are dead and gone more fortunate than those who are still alive.
3But better than both is the one who has not been born and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth.
4“Surely you know that it has been from old, ever since humankind was placed on the earth,
10I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied.
11God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.
12Enjoy Life in the Present I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live,
1A Time for All Events in Life For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth:
32The Uniqueness of Israel’s God Indeed, ask about the distant past, starting from the day God created humankind on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether there has ever been such a great thing as this, or even a rumor of it.
17then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.
1Not Everyone Enjoys Life Here is another misfortune that I have seen on earth, and it weighs heavily on people:
1Everyone Will Die So I reflected on all this, attempting to clear it all up. I concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated– no one knows what lies ahead.
8Concluding Refrain: Qoheleth Restates His Thesis“Absolutely futile!” laments the Teacher,“All of these things are futile!”
13Most People Are Not Receptive to Wise Counsel This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth, and it is a great burden to me:
22So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?
16For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies– just like the fool!
3This is the unfortunate fact about everything that happens on earth: the same fate awaits everyone. In addition to this, the hearts of all people are full of evil, and there is folly in their hearts during their lives– then they die.
9While applying my mind to everything that happens in this world, I have seen all this: Sometimes one person dominates other people to their harm.
10Contradictions to the Law of Retribution Not only that, but I have seen the wicked approaching and entering the temple, and as they left the holy temple, they boasted in the city that they had done so. This also is an enigma.
18“Don’t remember these earlier events; don’t recall these former events.
7Labor Motivated by Greed So I again considered another futile thing on earth:
9Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass; now I announce new events. Before they begin to occur, I reveal them to you.”
4and saying,“Where is his promised return? For ever since our ancestors died, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation.”
8So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many– all that is about to come is obscure.
8“For inquire now of the former generation, and pay attention to the findings of their ancestors;
6if he should live a thousand years twice, yet does not enjoy his prosperity. For both of them die!
5I thought about the days of old, about ancient times.
6What they loved, as well as what they hated and envied, perished long ago, and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth.